Zerodha's Nithin Kamath warns: 'India's poorest will be hit hardest by rising heat'
India has been consistently warming up. Decade after decade, temperatures have been rising, and this is a one-way journey unless humanity makes a dramatic course correction, says Kamath
- Jun 8, 2026,
- Updated Jun 8, 2026 8:01 PM IST
India is warming steadily, and the country's poorest citizens will pay the highest price unless there is collective global action on climate change, Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath said on Monday.
In a detailed post on social media, Kamath said rising temperatures have become a long-term trend and warned that the consequences are already visible in the growing number of heatwave-related deaths.
"India has been consistently warming up. Decade after decade, temperatures have been rising, and this is a one-way journey unless humanity makes a dramatic course correction," he wrote on X.
Kamath said there is still insufficient data to accurately measure the full impact of heatwaves on mortality in India, despite studies and reports highlighting the scale of the problem.
"All the heatwave deaths that are in the news are the result of this relentless warming," he wrote, adding that while several estimates are circulating, "the truth is, we still don't have good statistics on how many Indians are losing their lives because of heatwaves."
He argued that the burden of rising temperatures will fall disproportionately on lower-income Indians because much of the country's workforce remains employed in outdoor and informal occupations.
"What we do know is this: a vast majority of Indian employment is still informal. The number of people employed in agriculture, construction, gig work, and other outdoor work remains disproportionately high."
According to Kamath, many workers simply cannot afford to stop working during extreme heat conditions.
"For many Indians, staying indoors when temperatures rise is simply not a luxury they can afford."
He also highlighted what he described as the "inequality of heat", saying access to cooling remains heavily skewed toward higher-income households despite near-universal electrification.
"People with good incomes can afford coolers and ACs. They can work from home and can avoid the worst hours of the day. But this is a small subset of India."
The Zerodha CEO noted that more than 40% of Indians are still employed in agriculture even as the sector's contribution to GDP has declined, making rural communities particularly vulnerable to climate shocks.
"These are the real Indians who will be most affected by rising temperatures. Many of the regions most exposed to climatic shocks like El Niño and heatwaves are also among the poorer regions of northern India."
While describing climate change as a systemic challenge requiring coordinated action at the global level, Kamath also called for practical local measures, particularly in urban areas where green cover has steadily declined.
"There is a lot of debate and controversy over India's forest cover and whether it has increased or decreased. But when it comes to cities, we can see the loss of green cover firsthand," he said.
He encouraged people with available space to plant native species such as neem, moringa, jamun, amla and curry leaves, saying such trees have deeper roots and are more resilient.
Still, Kamath said individual efforts alone would not be enough.
"Sadly, this is a systemic crisis. Individual actions help, but they are not enough. We need collective action, not just at a country level, but at a global level. Rising temperatures are a serious challenge. They don't have easy explanations, and they definitely don't have easy solutions."
India is warming steadily, and the country's poorest citizens will pay the highest price unless there is collective global action on climate change, Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath said on Monday.
In a detailed post on social media, Kamath said rising temperatures have become a long-term trend and warned that the consequences are already visible in the growing number of heatwave-related deaths.
"India has been consistently warming up. Decade after decade, temperatures have been rising, and this is a one-way journey unless humanity makes a dramatic course correction," he wrote on X.
Kamath said there is still insufficient data to accurately measure the full impact of heatwaves on mortality in India, despite studies and reports highlighting the scale of the problem.
"All the heatwave deaths that are in the news are the result of this relentless warming," he wrote, adding that while several estimates are circulating, "the truth is, we still don't have good statistics on how many Indians are losing their lives because of heatwaves."
He argued that the burden of rising temperatures will fall disproportionately on lower-income Indians because much of the country's workforce remains employed in outdoor and informal occupations.
"What we do know is this: a vast majority of Indian employment is still informal. The number of people employed in agriculture, construction, gig work, and other outdoor work remains disproportionately high."
According to Kamath, many workers simply cannot afford to stop working during extreme heat conditions.
"For many Indians, staying indoors when temperatures rise is simply not a luxury they can afford."
He also highlighted what he described as the "inequality of heat", saying access to cooling remains heavily skewed toward higher-income households despite near-universal electrification.
"People with good incomes can afford coolers and ACs. They can work from home and can avoid the worst hours of the day. But this is a small subset of India."
The Zerodha CEO noted that more than 40% of Indians are still employed in agriculture even as the sector's contribution to GDP has declined, making rural communities particularly vulnerable to climate shocks.
"These are the real Indians who will be most affected by rising temperatures. Many of the regions most exposed to climatic shocks like El Niño and heatwaves are also among the poorer regions of northern India."
While describing climate change as a systemic challenge requiring coordinated action at the global level, Kamath also called for practical local measures, particularly in urban areas where green cover has steadily declined.
"There is a lot of debate and controversy over India's forest cover and whether it has increased or decreased. But when it comes to cities, we can see the loss of green cover firsthand," he said.
He encouraged people with available space to plant native species such as neem, moringa, jamun, amla and curry leaves, saying such trees have deeper roots and are more resilient.
Still, Kamath said individual efforts alone would not be enough.
"Sadly, this is a systemic crisis. Individual actions help, but they are not enough. We need collective action, not just at a country level, but at a global level. Rising temperatures are a serious challenge. They don't have easy explanations, and they definitely don't have easy solutions."